A photo of Julie Paskall is surrounded by candles during a vigil in Surrey, B.C., on January 18, 2014. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)
/ Postmedia News

Al Paskall attends a press conference where the Surrey RCMP announce that charges have been laid in the death of his wife, Julie Paskall, a Newton hockey mom who was beaten to death while waiting for her son outside Newton Arena in December 2013. 27-yr-old Yosef Jomo Gopaul has been charged with second-degree murderSURREY, May 24, 2014.Jenelle Schneider
/ PNG

Julie Paskall of Surrey.Handout
/ Handout

Supt. Kevin Hackett, officer in charge of IHIT announces that charges have been laid in the death of Julie Paskall, a Newton hockey mom who was beaten to death while waiting for her son outside Newton Arena in December 2013. 27-yr-old Yosef Jomo Gopaul has been charged with second-degree murderSURREY, May 24, 2014.Jenelle Schneider
/ PNG

Surrey RCMP announce that charges have been laid in the death of Julie Paskall, a Newton hockey mom who was beaten to death while waiting for her son outside Newton Arena in December 2013. 27-yr-old Yosef Jomo Gopaul has been charged with second-degree murderSURREY, May 24, 2014. Paskall's husband Al is pictured on the left.Jenelle Schneider
/ PNG

Al Paskall attends a press conference where the Surrey RCMP announce that charges have been laid in the death of his wife, Julie Paskall, a Newton hockey mom who was beaten to death while waiting for her son outside Newton Arena in December 2013. 27-yr-old Yosef Jomo Gopaul has been charged with second-degree murderSURREY, May 24, 2014.Jenelle Schneider
/ PNG

Surrey RCMP announce that charges have been laid in the death of Julie Paskall, a Newton hockey mom who was beaten to death while waiting for her son outside Newton Arena in December 2013. 27-yr-old Yosef Jomo Gopaul has been charged with second-degree murderSURREY, May 24, 2014. Paskall's husband Al is pictured on the left.Jenelle Schneider
/ PNG

METRO VANCOUVER - Newton community advocates welcomed news of the RCMP’s arrest in the death of Julie Paskall, but say much work remains to make their community safe.

The death five months ago of Paskall, 53 — who was attacked in the parking lot of a Newton community arena as she arrived to pick up her son after a hockey game — shook the community and became a rallying cry to clean up crime in the area.

“It’s a huge relief,” Newton Community Association representative Doug Elford said of the arrest.

“But we can’t let up. We can’t let them take the police off the street. We are not about to take the foot off the gas here,” said Elford, noting they finally had the attention of city officials.

Police held a news conference Saturday to announce the break in the case.

Yosef Jomo Gopaul, 27, has been charged with the second degree murder of Paskall. He is scheduled to appear Monday in a Surrey court.

Following Paskall’s death, more police were put on the street in Newton, but community advocates say the proliferation of unregulated recovery houses and other social services must also be addressed. They are also hoping that a new downtown plan will attract investment.

Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts said during the weekend that increased foot patrols in the neighbourhood will continue.

Liz Walker, also with the Newton Community Association, said she does not feel safe walking in Newton. She noted crime has been an issue in the area for years.

“The thing of it is that Mrs. Paskall was not the only tragedy we’ve had here in the past few years,” Walker said.

She pointed to the death of Devon Allaire-Bell, 19, who was stabbed outside Frank Hurt secondary school in 2011. The homicide has not been solved.

On Saturday, Supt. Kevin Hackett, head of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, said Gopaul was arrested in Surrey on Friday afternoon. He said Gopaul had been identified as a suspect about one month after the attack.

Police then informed the victim’s husband Al Paskall, who said at the conference he was elated there had finally been an arrest in connection with his wife’s death.

“While this is very important, it does not bring her back, she’s deeply missed and this has been an extremely difficult time for our family,” said Paskall. “We have suffered an unthinkable loss.”

RCMP would not disclose a motive for the Paskall homicide, saying they don’t want to compromise the court process. Hackett said that the investigation was the result of a coordinated effort with the Surrey RCMP and more than a thousand hours going through surveillance video, adding that Paskall’s family was a huge support during the process.

“I’d like to take this opportunity, once again to offer our condolences to the family on this tragic loss,” said Hackett. “I acknowledge that Al and his children provided tremendous faith in our team and offered support to our investigators.”

Hackett confirmed that Gopaul had a criminal record for assault in Brampton, Ont., and said he had moved to B.C. just eight weeks before Paskall was killed.

Outside RCMP headquarters on Saturday, Martin Ross, the victim’s brother, said it was an emotional day for the family.

“It’s a tough day. We’re pleased that somebody was caught,” he said. “But it doesn’t offer as much closure as you might think.”

On Friday, hours before Paskall’s daughter Rhiannon was scheduled to step on stage at a benefit concert to read a poem in honour of her late mother, police announced the arrest.

Paskall was badly beaten — possibly with a rock — and left unconscious in the parking lot of the Newton Arena on Dec. 29 in what may have been an attempted robbery, according to statements by IHIT spokesman Sgt. Adam MacIntosh after her death. Paskall had arrived to pick up her son, who was refereeing a game at the arena. She was steps from the arena doors and less than two blocks from the Newton RCMP detachment when she was attacked.

Paskall never regained consciousness and died two days later after her family agreed to take her off life support.

Paskall was the 25th and last person murdered last year in Surrey — a record for the city.

Shortly after the murder, Surrey’s crime task force called for more police officers, foot patrols and surveillance cameras in the city. Mayor Watts had created the task force, which has 49 dedicated officers, as last year’s homicides began to approach the record number.

Watts said the city increased foot patrols in the area in the days after the murder, and planned to improve lighting and sightlines in the area. She and others also lashed out at the provincial and federal governments for allowing a proliferation of unregulated recovery houses for people with mental illness or addictions, which can be set up anywhere in the city.

Over the next two years, the city has budgeted for 24 new police officers.

In less than a week, Abbotsford recording artists Hedley went from touring Canada with two supporting acts and a popular new album to pariahs ensnared in allegations of sexual misconduct. On Monday, accusations that band members Jacob Hoggard, Dave Rosin, Tommy Mac and Jay Benison had engaged in sexual behaviour with teenage girls surfaced on Twitter […]

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